C.F.R. » Title 21 » CHAPTER I—FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › SUBCHAPTER B—FOOD FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION › PART 102—COMMON OR USUAL NAME FOR NONSTANDARDIZED FOODS › Subpart A—General Provisions

21 C.F.R. § 102.5

General principles

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(a) The common or usual name of a food, which may be a coined term, shall accurately identify or describe, in as simple and direct terms as possible, the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties or ingredients. The name shall be uniform among all identical or similar products and may not be confusingly similar to the name of any other food that is not reasonably encompassed within the same name. Each class or subclass of food shall be given its own common or usual name that states, in clear terms, what it is in a way that distinguishes it from different foods.

(b) The common or usual name of a food shall include the percentage(s) of any characterizing ingredient(s) or component(s) when the proportion of such ingredient(s) or component(s) in the food has a material bearing on price or consumer acceptance or when the labeling or the appearance of the food may otherwise create an erroneous impression that such ingredient(s) or component(s) is present in an amount greater than is actually the case. The following requirements shall apply unless modified by a specific regulation in subpart B of this part.

(1) The percentage of a characterizing ingredient or component shall be declared on the basis of its quantity in the finished product (i.e., weight/weight in the case of solids, or volume/volume in the case of liquids).

(2) The percentage of a characterizing ingredient or component shall be declared by the words “containing (or contains) __ percent (or %) ______” or “__ percent (or %) ______” with the first blank filled in with the percentage expressed as a whole number not greater than the actual percentage of the ingredient or component named and the second blank filled in with the common or usual name of the ingredient or component. The word “containing” (or “contains”), when used, shall appear on a line immediately below the part of the common or usual name of the food required by paragraph (a) of this section. For each characterizing ingredient or component, the words “__ percent or %) ______” shall appear following or directly below the word “containing” (or contains), or directly below the part of the common or usual name of the food required by paragraph (a) of this section when the word “containing” (or contains) is not used, in easily legible boldface print or type in distinct contrast to other printed or graphic matter, and in a height not less than the larger of the following alternatives:

(i) Not less than one-sixteenth inch in height on packages having a principal display panel with an area of 5 square inches or less and not less than one-eighth inch in height if the area of the principal display panel is greater than 5 square inches; or

(ii) Not less than one-half the height of the largest type appearing in the part of the common or usual name of the food required by paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) The common or usual name of a food shall include a statement of the presence or absence of any characterizing ingredient(s) or component(s) and/or the need for the user to add any characterizing ingredient(s) or component(s) when the presence or absence of such ingredient(s) or component(s) in the food has a material bearing on price or consumer acceptance or when the labeling or the appearance of the food may otherwise create an erroneous impression that such ingredient(s) or component(s) is present when it is not, and consumers may otherwise be misled about the presence or absence of the ingredient(s) or component(s) in the food. The following requirements shall apply unless modified by a specific regulation in subpart B of this part.

(1) The presence or absence of a characterizing ingredient or component shall be declared by the words “containing (or contains) ______” or “containing (or contains) no ______” or “no ______” or “does not contain ______”, with the blank being filled in with the common or usual name of the ingredient or component.

(2) The need for the user of a food to add any characterizing ingredient(s) or component(s) shall be declared by an appropriate informative statement.

(3) The statement(s) required under paragraph (c)(1) and/or (2) of this section shall appear following or directly below the part of the common or usual name of the food required by paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, in easily legible boldface print or type in distinct contrast to other printed or graphic matter, and in a height not less than the larger of the alternatives established under paragraphs (b)(2) (i) and (ii) of this section.

(d) A common or usual name of a food may be established by common usage or by establishment of a regulation in subpart B of this part, in part 104 of this chapter, in a standard of identity, or in other regulations in this chapter.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (12 in the last 5 years), 1976–2024 · leading case: Gustavson v. Wrigley Sales Co., 961 F. Supp. 2d 1100 (N.D. Cal. 2013).
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Gustavson v. Wrigley Sales Co., 961 F. Supp. 2d 1100 (N.D. Cal. 2013). · cites it 2× “4 (a)(1), which the regulations state “shall accurately identify or describe, in as simple and direct terms as possible, the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties or ingredients,” 21 C.F.R. § 102.5 (a), and which “may be established by common usage or by .”
Simpson v. Kroger Corp., 219 Cal. App. 4th 1352 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “” ( 21 C.F.R. § 102.5 (a) (2013).) Subdivision (c) of this regulation provides that “[t]he common or usual name of a food shall include a statement of the presence or absence of any characterizing ingredi.”
Regan v. Sioux Honey Ass'n Coop., 921 F. Supp. 2d 938 (E.D. Wis. 2013). · cites it 4× “” 21 C.F.R. § 102.5 (a). The name “shall be uniform among all identical or similar products and may not be confusingly similar to the name of any other food that is not reasonably encompassed within the same name.”
Grocery Mfrs. Ass'n v. Sorrell, 102 F. Supp. 3d 583 (D. Vt. 2015). “the common or usual name of the food, if any there be”); see also 21 C.F.R. § 102.5 (a) (providing that the "common or usual name” of a food or beverage must identify "in as simple and direct terms as possible, the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties or…”
Greenfield v. Yucatan Foods, L.P., 18 F. Supp. 3d 1371 (S.D. Fla. 2014). · cites it 2× “” 21 C.F.R. 102.5; see also Fla. Stat. § 500.”
Am. Frozen Food Inst. v. Mathews, 413 F. Supp. 548 (D.D.C. 1976). “(b) When the cocktail contains more than one seafood ingredient, the term “seafood cocktail” and a statement of the percentage by weight of each seafood ingredient in the product in the manner set forth in § 102.”
Swearingen v. Yucatan Foods, L.P., 24 F. Supp. 3d 889 (N.D. Cal. 2014). “, that the ingredients are sugars or syrups) as required by 21 CFR 102.5. 2009 WL 3288507 , *2-3. The FDA has not issued final guidance on this point, but it has issued several warning letters to producers cautioning against the use of the term “evaporated cane juice.”
Figy v. Amy's Kitchen, Inc., 37 F. Supp. 3d 1109 (N.D. Cal. 2014). “” 21 C.F.R. § 102.5 (d). All of the claims in the FAC hinge on plaintiffs contention that ECJ is not the common or usual name of the ingredient at issue, thereby rendering defendant’s products in violation of the above federal regulations and illegal under California’s Sherman…”
Stansfield v. Minute Maid Co., 124 F. Supp. 3d 1226 (N.D. Fla. 2015). “21 C.F.R. § 102.5 (d). It must “accurately identify or describe, in as simple and direct terms as possible, the basic nature of the food or its characterizing properties or ingredients.”
Truth in Labeling Campaign v. Shalala, 999 F. Supp. 1289 (E.D. Mo. 1998). “, that manufactured or processed foods that contain free glutamate are different from foods that contain naturally-occurring free glutamate and should be regulated differently; (b) advocated a approach that was inconsistent with the principles established in 21 C.F.R. § 102.5…”
Lima v. Post Consum. Brands, LLC (D. Mass. 2019). · cites it 5× “¶¶ 35–37 (citing 21 C.F.R. §102.5 (b)). That regulation provides that “[t]he common or usual name of a food, which may be a coined term, shall accurately identify or describe, in as simple and direct terms as possible, the basic nature of the food or its characterizing…”
Mccausland v. PepsiCo, Inc. (N.D. Cal. 2024). · cites it 5× “21 C.F.R. § 102.5 s1eparately requires that foods be named after their characterizing ingredients.”
Show all 26 citing cases →
— 21 C.F.R. § 102.5(a) — 1 case
Citrus Hill Mfg. Co. v. State, 29 Fla. Supp. 2d 217 (Fla. Div. Admin. Hr'g 1987).
— 21 C.F.R. § 102.5(c) — 1 case
Lima v. Post Consum. Brands, LLC (D. Mass. 2019). “¶¶ 35–37 (citing 21 C.F.R. §102.5 (b)). That regulation provides that “[t]he common or usual name of a food, which may be a coined term, shall accurately identify or describe, in as simple and direct terms as possible, the basic nature of the food or its characterizing…”
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